The International School for Holocaust Studies

Junior High School

Kits

Everyday Life in the Warsaw Ghetto

A documentation of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, based on black-and-white photographs taken by a German
soldier in September 1941. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest ghetto established by the Nazis and was
home to nearly half a million Jews. For two-and-a-half years Jews from all over Poland were herded
into the ghetto and forced to live in terrible conditions of overcrowding, hunger and disease.
Following the uprising in Spring 1943, the Nazis razed the ghetto to the ground.

The unit contains:
CD
A teacher’s manual with a brief historical introduction, excerpts of testimonies and diaries and suggestions
for class activities
A student’s workbook

Holocaust Responsa in the Kovno Ghetto

This resource highlights issues of Jewish religious law that arose in the Kovno ghetto. Under Nazi
occupation, the Jews of Lithuania, an ancient center of Jewish learning and scholarship, were
herded into ghettos or taken to ravines and shot. Amidst terror and persecution, and in the
abnormal conditions of the ghetto, Jews could no longer adhere to their customs and mitzvot. This
guide outlines how rabbis were called upon to answer numerous issues of Halacha and grapple with
ethical dilemmas.

The unit contains:
A teacher’s manual with sources and suggestions for class activities.

Circles

Circles is a teaching unit designed for junior high school students, focusing on topics that
reflect Jewish observance during the Holocaust. The curriculum highlights Jewish religious
traditions, rituals and holidays as well as places an emphasis on how Jews struggled to maintain
their customs during the Holocaust.The following topics are covered: Tu B’Shvat, Chanukah,
Purim, Passover Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Brit Milah, Prayer, Shabbat, Kaddish and Commemoration.
This kit is also available in Spanish.